They’re Creepier by the Dozen- But Add One More , and You Can’t Ignore “13 Ghosts”- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- test your murderous math skills by seeing how many sinister spirits it takes to add up to the title total- as we bring back a William Castle favorite! You’re invited to a chilling housewarming party at a house inherited by a family- who quickly discover that, among its features, besides spacious rooms, a live-in housekeeper, and antique furniture- are strange secrets, deadly dangers and some terrorizing tenants from the spirit world! There’s nastiness by the numbers in “13 Ghosts”!

This 1960 films begins during some tough times for the Zorba family- dad Cyrus Zorba is financially strapped, resulting in his furniture being repossessed. It couldn’t come on a worse day- the birthday of his son Buck. Blowing out the candles, Buck makes a heartfelt birthday wish – which suddenly seems to be coming true! A message arrives bringing news that Cyrus’ uncle, who was deeply into the occult, has passed away- and has left his grand old mansion to -none other than Cyrus! The family is delighted to be inheriting a huge house, free and clear of any debt, as it seems like things are looking up- or- are they?

Cyrus and his wife Hilda meet with lawyer Benjamin Rush to get all aspects of the inheritance settled. During the meeting,Rush gives them an additional item willed to them by their late uncle -a strange-looking pair of glasses with a sort of “steampunk” feel to them. They take this odd bequest to their new home, which they find is indeed fully furnished- and watched over the late uncle’s creepy housekeeper.

As they celebrate their “good fortune”- Medea, their pretty daughter, decides to play with a Ouija board that just happens to be laying around. The parlor game with the “spirit board” takes an unsettling turn, when it reveals that there are ghosts in the house, supposedly collected from all over the world by dear uncle! One more thing- these wraiths have a tendency towards being homicidal!

Cyrus finds that the weird glasses they’ve inherited are used to reveal the presence of the ghostly inhabitants of the house. He stumbles upon his uncle’s hidden room- which is infested by evil spirits! This encounter prompts him to visit the museum he works at to see if a learned old friend there might provide some answers. Back at home, more answers are revealed by the creepy old housekeeper- as the malevolent manifestations continue, and the legend of a hidden fortune somewhere in the house becomes the source of mortal danger!

Most viewers know that this film was remade in 2001, in slightly more modern fashion- but the original is a perfect example of the typical gimmickry with which Castle loved to frame his films. This one bragged of being presented in the process of “Illusion-O” – utilizing Castle’s famed “ghost viewers” – which braver theatre goers could use to see the ghosts on screen, while the more squeamish in the audience could use them to avoid the frights. We’ll demonstrate how the ghost viewers worked, and introduce you to the cast, which includes familiar faces like Martin Milner, Rosemary De Camp, and “Wizard of Oz” ‘s Wicked Witch of the West herself, Margaret Hamilton. Naturally, we get the usual hauntingly hammy cameo by Castle himself, and be ready for plenty of Sven embellishments- including our rundown of the list of the thirteen ghosts, for those keeping score; a song with Doug Graves; and, bring back a much-requested featurette- our Svensurrounded version of the old “Flash Gordon” serial!!

"13 Ghosts" will appear right before your eyes tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central- and, if you're not sure of the channel or time of the broadcast where you are, consult your local listings or www.metv.com . MeTV invites you to join the many fans haunting Twitter /X by live-Tweeting during the show-using the hashtag #svengoolie n your postings. We have again been trending nationally among the most Tweeted about topics, thanks to you! This week our Chicago viewers will “see”- you know what I mean- “The Invisible Man’s Revenge” on a different one of our channels- “The U”- at 11 am. This is due to the high school basketball finals on CW26 this week.

This week, the Super 7 company which made a great little full-color Svengoolie figure has stepped up again to present a new black and white version of the figure- in tribute to the many black and white movies we show! You will want to add it to your Sven collection, there’s no grey area on that!

YOU can be a “ghost viewer”- just hold your breath and count to 13-tonight on MeTV !